Calvary Church Annual Report CalvaryChurchAnnualReport20152016-REV | Page 22

Students
Students Team Staff (8/31/2016)
Scott Barry, Lee Bergakker, Valerie Bierlein, Carla Boon-Julien, Byron Dickey, Samantha Heetderks, Leslie Iverson,
Josh Karhan, Shelly Lamport, Sue Schroeder, Mason Sherrill, Liz Thelen, Sara Tindall, Hannah Troupe, Judi Warner
stories of
and
courage in prayer
This summer our 5th & 6th Grade
students demonstrated great
courage as we ministered to res-
idents of the Heartside District of
Grand Rapids. We spent parts of
three days interacting with those
we found walking the streets of
downtown and sharing God’s love.
Our students showed unbelievable
boldness in approaching strang-
ers to share God’s love. Many of
the people we met suffered from
mental illness or addiction, but
our students treated them with
grace and dignity. They gave gifts
of food, socks and hygiene items
to help meet their physical needs.
They also addressed their spiritual
needs by giving out Bibles, reading
scripture and praying with them.
Our students took great care to re-
member the names of those they
met, and each day we prayed for
dozens of people by name. 43 elev-
en and twelve-year-olds found the
courage to approach homeless
and impoverished strangers and
say, “Can I pray for you,” because
they wanted to obey God.
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willingness to serve
Our middle school students went
on a mission trip to Indianapolis.
On one of the hottest weeks of
the year, they spent the majority
of their time handing out flyers,
praying for people, and sharing
their faith. Our efforts did not have
tangible results, like doing a clean-
up project, yet it was amazing to
watch students serve sacrificially
as they helped this small church
plant reach people for Jesus. God
used our students sacrifices for
kingdom work in ways they may
have never imagined.
God’s continued grace
The past few months we have had
a transition taking place in High
School ministry. Throughout that
transition, we have witnessed how
students have faithfully depended
on God. A group of students met ev-
ery other week to pray for the tran-
sition. Students went on a mission
trip where they were challenged to
take on a greater role in the ministry.
We witnessed students worshiping
God in spirit and truth as they await-
ed the change. God was so faithful
in bringing Josh Karhan to our min-
istry, and we can’t wait to see how
His faithfulness continues.
student space
dedication
In February we dedicated our new
Student Space, with two special
services of worship and prayer.
This time offered our middle
school, high school and college
students the opportunity to praise
God for those who had given gen-
erously to build this space. The ser-
vices also provided students, staff
and ministry leaders with a chance
to dedicate the space to God and
pray over the ministry that would
take place in the years to come.
From classrooms
to Gymnasiums
As Calvary Kids prepared to move
preschool and early elementary S.S.
Adventure from our classrooms at
Calvary to a large gymnasium and
dance studio at Calvin, we knew
ministry was going to look different.
At first, while preparing and plan-
ning, our staff realized we would
be leaving many things behind and
running programs pretty minimally.